A Bain & Company survey
shows that current gender-parity
initiatives are just not working.
Organizations need bold, new
approaches to bring women
back on the leadership track—
and double the talent pool.
The great disappearing act:
Gender parity up the
corporate ladder
By Julie Coffman, Orit Gadiesh and Wendy Miller
Julie Coffman is a partner in Bain & Company’s Chicago office and chair
of Bain’s Global Women’s Leadership Council. Orit Gadiesh is chairman,
Bain & Company. Wendy Miller is a partner in Bain’s Boston office and
leads the firm’s Global Marketing and Communications department.
Copyright © 2010 Bain & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
Content: Manjari Raman, Elaine Cummings
Layout: Global Design
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
Introduction
Ambition, competence, determination and resourcefulness do not come with
gender labels. Indeed, as the world economy increasingly shifts from brawnpower to brain-power, women are joining the ranks of the employed in greater
and greater numbers. Women now constitute nearly 50 percent of the US
workforce. In the EU, women filled 75 percent of the 8 million new jobs created
since 2000. Globally, for the first time in a century, working women coped with
economic adversity better than men: In the US, men suffered 75 percent of all the
jobs lost in the recent recession1.
But then, something disturbing happens to women as they climb rungs up the
corporate ladder—they disappear. Women have yet to rise to leadership levels at
the same rate and pace as their male counterparts. Women enter the workforce in
large numbers, but over time steadily “vaporize” from the higher echelons of
organization hierarchy. In 2009, only 3 percent of Fortune 500 companies had a
female CEO2. In Europe, women constitute just 12 percent of the boards of
directors of FTSE 100 companies3—25 percent of these companies still have allmale boards4.
In recent years, while women gained ground on gender equality issues like
discrimination and harassment, they continued to struggle on gender parity
issues like career development and access to leadership positions. As they try to
balance priorities such as career-building and care-giving, often they find
themselves slipping behind in the race to the top. While many organizations
offer myriad flexible-work programs to help women return to the workforce, few
currently have innovative promotion policies or growth paths in place that
rejuvenate the careers of employees (male or female) who return to the fold after
a break of few years. Increasingly, instead of languishing in stalled careers,
women opt to become entrepreneurs. Every day in the US, 1,600 new businesses
are started by women entrepreneurs. Women-owned businesses are growing at
twice the rate as all other businesses5.
As the economy picks up, management teams will again need to focus on finding
and keeping top talent—men and women. Organizations will find filling the
talent pipeline difficult if they do not focus on retaining the female half of the
workforce. In interviews with the human resources directors at 25 large
European companies, Bain & Company found that organizations pay a huge
price for ignoring this issue. Our research shows that talent significantly bleeds
away when an organization loses a disproportionate number of women
employees at middle and senior levels: Even a 5 percent difference in attrition
yields nearly two times the number of men than women after 10 years. A 5
percent decrease in female retention, after 10 years, results in the equivalent of
wiping out the benefits of increasing female recruitment from 30 percent to 50
Davos, January 2010 | Page 1
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
percent. And most shocking of all: If one-third of the women employees in an
organization go part-time, 50 percent more men than women will tend to be
promoted over the next five years6.
What prevents organizations from retaining their best female talent and
promoting them to top management roles? To understand the hurdles in the
path to parity up the ladder, Bain & Company recently conducted a worldwide
survey—in association with the Harvard Business Review—on “Gender Parity in
the Workplace.” The survey attracted more than 1,800 respondents, with nearly 60
percent in senior management or executive positions. While more than 75
percent of the respondents are women, men actively participated in the survey—
often providing a provocative and thought-provoking counter-point.
The survey results show that while both men (91 percent) and women (82
percent) aspire to be senior leaders in their organization, fewer women realize
their dreams than men. While 66 percent of the men report that they believe
women share equal opportunity to be promoted to leadership and governance
positions, less than a third of the women feel the same (see Figure 1). The survey
findings and detailed follow-up interviews indicate that three major issues block
the way to gender parity in many organizations.
Figure 1: Women want to lead but feel they do not have equal opportunity to
reach the senior ranks
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
100%
91
82
80
66
Women
40
Men
60
30
20
0
I aspire to be a
senior business leader
I believe men and women
have a n equal opportunity
to be promoted to senior
managem ent/executive positio ns
Note: Scale of 1-5 (“Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”)
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The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
I. Real perception gap exists on the current state of gender parity
Despite the high number of women entering the workforce, many organizations
are still not convinced of the business case for gender parity in organizations.
The Bain survey reveals that while most men and women agree that gender
parity in general is a desired goal—the two sexes diverge in their opinions
when the question focuses on just how important gender parity should be in
their organization. While a majority of all respondents—men and women—
support the idea of gender parity in the workplace, when asked whether parity
should be a business imperative in their organization, it is the women who vote
strongly in favor of the strategic commitment: More than 80 percent of the
women agree or strongly agree. However, only 48 percent of the men feel that
achieving gender parity should be a critical business imperative for their
organizations (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Men are not fully convinced of the business imperative for
gender parity
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
100%
87
80
84
79
Women
40
Men
60
48
20
0
I'm convinced of the benefits
of parity in the workplace
Gender parity should be
a strategic imperative
for my company
Note: Scale of 1-5 (“Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”)
Men consistently perceive greater gender parity than women when it comes to
key workforce milestones like recruitment, promotions or appointment to
leadership positions. Interestingly, both men and women feel that gender parity
visibly wanes at senior levels of their organization. The survey results show, for
example, a majority of both men (90 percent) and women (85 percent) believe
that at their companies qualified candidates of both genders have equal
opportunity to be recruited into junior level positions.
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The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
But when asked about recruitment or promotion into management or executive
positions, both men and women are less likely to agree that parity exists—and
men see a rosier picture than women. In the survey results, about twice as many
men as women feel that women have an equal chance as men of being recruited
in executive roles, promoted on the same timeline into executive roles, or
appointed to key leadership or governance roles (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: There is a sizable perception gap between men and women on the
current state of parity
Qualified men and women at my firm have equal opportunity to be:
Promoted
on the same timeline
100%
100%
90
85
80
80
72
100%
81
69
40
Management/
executive
0
60
52
Men
42
20
Junior leve l
80
40
Women
Men
Women
60
20
0
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
66
60
40
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
30
Middle
Senior
ma nageme nt ma nagement/
e xecutive
20
0
31
Wom en
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
Appointed
to key leadership/governance roles
Me n
Recruited
Appointments
Note: Scale of 1-5 (“Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”)
Clearly, as long as there is a perception gap between genders, it will be harder
for organizations to pursue the goal of gender parity—particularly as key
decision-makers in top leadership positions are currently more likely to be male,
and they might or might not perceive parity standards in the same way as the
women who work for them do. Says a female senior manager, from a large
insurance company based in North America: “The corporate world’s ladder is set
up for a man’s biological clock, not a woman’s. You achieve success climbing in
your 20s, 30s and 40s—but that’s also when you’re building a family. That
dynamic needs to change.”
II. Stuck on the “mommy track”: Balancing the role of caregiver with
career-builder
Despite the rising number of families in the US and Europe where the father
stays at home and is the primary caregiver, society has still not shaken off the
deep-rooted belief that a woman does that job better. While 80 percent of the
Davos, January 2010 | Page 4
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
women surveyed feel that both men and women are equally good caregivers at
home to children, only 56 percent of the men surveyed agree (see Figure 4). Other
survey questions that probed deeper revealed that often women drop out of the
career race to take care of home—or feel burdened under the dual
responsibilities of managing a career and the family. Says a woman executive in
the entertainment industry: “In addition to holding a senior executive position at
my agency, I am still the wife and mom. I still cook dinner a few nights a week
and do a lot of things that I would not do if I were the husband.”
Figure 4: Women are constrained by the persisting perception that they are
more effective caregivers
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
100%
87
91
80
80
56
Women
40
Men
60
20
0
Men/women
can be the primary
breadwinner
Men/women
can be the primary
child caregiver
Note: Scale of 1-5 (“Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”)
Both men (87 percent) and women (91 percent) vote in large numbers in favor of
the belief that either sex could be a primary breadwinner. When it comes to
actually making career sacrifices, however, men and women tend to react
differently. While 59 percent of women agree they would sacrifice their career for
the sake of the household, a slightly lower 53 percent of men feel the same way.
Men tend to be more confident than women that their partner would make a
career sacrifice: in the survey results, 77 of the men feel their partner would
compromise on their career for the sake of family, while only 45 percent of
women could confidently make the same claim (see Figure 5).
For both sexes, increasingly, finances are often at the core of who would sacrifice
what. Says one junior male executive: “Our income differential decides whose
career has priority.” A female senior manager in real estate comments: “The
Davos, January 2010 | Page 5
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
earning potential has a lot to do with which career takes priority. We both make
very good salaries, but my husband works in finance (and earns more).”
Figure 5: More male executives have spouses who make career sacrifices for
their partner’s sake
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
100%
77
80
60
53
59
0
Men
20
Women
45
40
I would make
career sacrifices
My spouse or partner
would make career
sacrifices
Note: Scale of 1-5 (“Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”)
In practice, the survey results reveal that women tend to make more
compromises in terms of putting their partner’s career ahead of theirs. They are
two times more likely to take a flexible career path or a leave of absence and
three times more likely to work part-time. It must be noted though, that the
survey did reveal that a growing number of men are willing to make similar
sacrifices to support the careers of their partners—it’s just that in the absence of
gender parity in the workforce, fewer men are called upon to make those
sacrifices as their partner rises to senior executive positions.
According to the survey results, in order to support a partner’s career priorities,
more women than men worked from home (women: 47 percent; men: 31
percent); moved or relocated in support of the partner (42 percent; 35 percent);
turned down attractive job opportunities (34 percent; 26 percent); pursued a
flexible career path (36 percent; 19 percent); opted for part-time or flex-time work
(30 percent; 10 percent); or simply took a leave of absence from work (26 percent;
14 percent) (see Figure 6).
Davos, January 2010 | Page 6
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
Figure 6: Women are still more likely to make career accommodations
than men
Percentage of respondents
who have made career choices for the sake of their partner
50%
47
42
40
35
14
10
10
0
Worked from
home
26
19
Me n
20
30
26
Wom en
30
36
34
31
Moved/
relocated
Turned down
Flexible
Part-time or
attractive
care er pa th
fle x time
opportunities
Leave of
absence
Unless organizations find ways to help employees balance work-life priorities—
and encourage both male and female employees to pursue those options—it will
be impossible to achieve gender parity. The survey reveals that just as, often,
behind a successful man there is a supportive partner staying at home—behind
many successful senior woman executives too is a supportive spouse. Says a
female executive with adult children: “I am the breadwinner of the family. My
husband’s career allows for flexibility to support my demanding hours and
travel. Without that, I couldn’t do what I do.”
III. Organizations have to show sustained commitment and action on
gender parity
The survey results send a strong message to business leaders that the majority of
employees do not see the current initiatives aimed at helping achieve gender
parity as successful. The single most important test employees put their
organization to: the number of women rising to the top. The survey results reveal
the frustration employees feel with their organization’s existing initiatives on
gender parity—or worse, complete dissatisfaction with the organization’s
insensitivity to the progression of male and female career paths.
More than three-quarters of the respondents in Bain’s survey say their company
has implemented gender-parity initiatives—such as flex-work programs and
mentorship—but many feel these programs are not effective. Only one in four
respondents feel that their company leadership sees gender parity as a priority
Davos, January 2010 | Page 7
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
and only one in five believe their company has committed adequate resources to
the initiatives. As few as 14 percent say they receive effective gender parity
training or workshops and only 8 percent of the respondents feel that their firm
succeeds in linking incentives and compensation to gender-parity goals
(see Figure 7). Says a woman junior manager in a global accounting firm: “Large
corporations are deeply entrenched in their ways and despite good intentions,
are having a difficult time making this transition (to gender parity).”
Figure 7: Most companies have not been successful at implementing gender
parity initiatives
Percentage of firms
implementing initiatives
Implemented
100%
86
86
80
Implemented successfully
81
77
71
68
67
63
60
61
40
20
% effective
51%
48%
38%
32%
27%
21%
T
wo rai
rk nin
sh g/
op
Ti
s
ed
co i
m nc
pe en
ns t i
at ves
io /
n
G
m oa
et ls/
ri c
s
pa Ma
te t e
r n rn
it y i t
y
lea /
ve
F
m orm
en a
to liz
rs ed
hi
p
co
m Re
m g
un ula
ic r
at
io
ns
Fl
pr ex
og wo
ra rk
m
s
Fl
ex
pa car
t h ee
s r
ap
po N e
in w
tm
en
ts
0
19%
14%
8%
Note: Scale of 1-5 (“Very ineffective” to “Very effective”)
Companies also need to measure the current state of gender parity, as well as
monitor the progress of gender parity goals—across all levels of the organization.
The survey results show that many employees feel that their company does not
collect enough data on gender parity issues. Less than 20 percent of the survey
respondents report that their company uses gender parity metrics effectively.
The feedback is no better for other talent-management metrics: Less than half of
those surveyed know if their company tracks measures like the percent of
women recruited, women promoted and women retained. For organizations
genuinely seeking to help women rise within the ranks, the message is clear: It is
hard to change when you don’t have the right metrics to measure improvements.
Another strong signal from employees: Include them in the design and
communications of the organization’s gender parity program. In many
organizations, even if there is senior management commitment to gender parity,
employees feel no engagement with the agenda. About 60 percent of all survey
Davos, January 2010 | Page 8
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
respondents report that their company does not solicit any input from them on
developing gender parity initiatives (see Figure 8). About one in ten states that
their company does not provide any formal feedback mechanism or opportunity
for open dialogue through questions and answers, on the subject. For true
commitment to gender parity, companies need to ask employees what they need
to make work-life balance sustainable.
Figure 8: Most companies are not engaging employees on the issue of
gender parity
% of respondents saying firm uses
communication channels to solicit employee input
100%
80
60
60
40
27
17
20
0
Inform al
feedback/Q& A
channels
Surveys
11
9
Focus groups
Formal
feedback/Q&A
channels
Company has
not solicited input
The Bain survey results reveal that employees are quick to spot when their
company is merely paying lip-service to the cause—and look for key indicators
like top management commitment, adequate resources for initiatives or clear and
open communications as cues for a serious investment in gender parity issues. In
our survey findings, few companies met the mark on signaling to their
employees that they are genuinely committed to gender parity. Nearly twothirds of the respondents do not feel their leadership team believes in parity as a
company-wide imperative. In nearly 75 percent of the companies, the leadership
team has not made gender parity a stated and visible priority and nearly 80
percent of the firms have not committed resources to the initiatives (see Figure 9).
One Europe-based female senior manager in a global energy firm says: “Unless
senior leaders of the organization are sincerely and genuinely committed to
achieving gender parity and putting some metrics and muscle behind it—it
won’t ever happen in my lifetime.”
Davos, January 2010 | Page 9
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
Figure 9: Most employees feel their company is not genuinely committed to
gender parity
Percentage of respondents
agreeing or strongly agreeing
100%
80
60
40
34
26
20
0
Leadership team
believes parity
is imperative
Leadership team
has made it a
visible priority
21
Company has
committed resources
Gender parity: What you can do about it
Each organization faces unique challenges on gender parity—and therefore
needs to develop the right solution that works well for it. All organizations,
however, have to tackle two key issues if women and men are not to pay a
penalty for taking time out of the workforce to manage family responsibilities:

First, gender parity needs to be a stated strategic priority for the
organization and management must demonstrate all the rigor—
measurement, tracking, resource allocation, accountability, and the full
commitment of top leadership—it usually displays when the organization
pursues critical business goals;

Second, companies need to develop less rigid promotion processes and
career paths—and actively promote and “de-stigmatize” flexible career
arcs within the organization—so that employees flourish and grow in
stop-and-start careers. While that is critical in the context of women who
take time off to raise children, it is equally important for all employees—
male and female—as over the course of their career, they balance life
issues such as starting a family, looking after an ailing partner, or caring
for aging parents. Companies must ensure that promotion processes do
not penalize those who take advantage of flex- or part-time opportunities
and make sure that the re-entry process is seamless.
Davos, January 2010 | Page 10
The great disappearing act | Gender parity up the corporate ladder
Companies that do make gender parity an integral part of their strategic goals
report that the pay-off is at multiple levels. By retaining women employees over
the long term, companies create a deeper talent pool to dip into for developing
leaders—plus they save enormously on costs such as retraining and recruiting
new replacement talent. Large professional services firms have claimed to have
saved tens of millions of dollars through effective gender parity initiatives that
welcome women back into the organization and put them on a promotion track.
Clearly, as the war for talent increases in the future, leaders will need to do the
gender math. Increasingly, for most CEOs—male and female—managing gender
parity is not a luxury: it’s a necessity to ensure continued growth and success in
the global marketplace.
“Women in the workforce: Female power.” The Economist, Dec. 30, 2009.
“Fortune 500 2009: Top Women CEOs.” Fortune, May 4, 2009.
3 “Corporate Britain is failing women.” Cranfield University School of Management,
November 19, 2009.
4 “No women directors on 1 in 4 FTSE 100 boards.” The Institute of Commercial
Management (ICM), November 19, 2009.
5 King, Steve, Anthony Townsend and Carolyn Ockels. “Demographic Trends and Small
Business.” The Intuit Future of Small Business Report, January 2007.
6 Sophie Serratrice and Bertrand Pointeau. “Gender Balance at the Top: Linking Diversity
& Leadership Supply.” Bain & Company, 2008.
1
2
Davos, January 2010 | Page 11
The Great Disappearing Act: Gender Parity up the Corporate Ladder
Bain’s business is helping make companies more valuable.
Founded in 1973 on the principle that consultants must measure their success in terms
of their clients’ financial results, Bain works with top management teams to beat competitors
and generate substantial, lasting financial impact. Our clients have historically outperformed
the stock market by 4:1.
Who we work with
Our clients are typically bold, ambitious business leaders. They have the talent, the will
and the open-mindedness required to succeed. They are not satisfied with the status quo.
What we do
We help companies find where to make their money, make more of it faster and sustain
its growth longer. We help management make the big decisions: on strategy, operations,
technology, mergers and acquisitions and organization. Where appropriate, we work with
them to make it happen.
How we do it
We realize that helping an organization change requires more than just a recommendation.
So we try to put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and focus on practical actions.
Contact information
Julie Coffman
Partner
Bain & Company
Telephone: +1 312 629 4040
julie.coffman@bain.com
Cheryl Krauss
Senior director of media relations
Bain & Company
Telephone: +1 646 562 7863
cheryl.krauss@bain.com
For more information, please visit www.bain.com